The Bengals attempted a field goal on a 4th-and-3 on the Rams’ 3.
The NYT 4th Down bot mentally high-fives that call, although going for it would have been fine, too.

If you disagree

I lean slightly towards going for it, but I don’t have strong feelings here – my numbers tell me that either going for it or attempting a field goal could be the best play. Specifically, attempting a field goal would be the right call if you think the Bengals’ chances of converting on fourth down are less than 33 percent. (Based on my analysis, I’d give the Bengals a 42 percent chance to get a first down here.)

Here's the full breakdown of my calculations:

Option

Chance of converting

Chance of winning

Before play

After play

Change

Go for it4th and 3, opp. 3

42%

91%

91%

-

Field goal try20 yard kick (est.)

98%

91%

91%

-

Punt

91%

87%

–4%

My decision in context

Along with some circuitry to come up with a win probability for every game situation, all you need to figure out what you should do next is an estimate of how likely you are to make a field goal or convert a first down.

My estimates for these are based on the results of thousands of similar plays, but you may think you're smarter than I am. This chart shows you how changing those estimates would change my recommendation.

What to do on 4th-and-3 on opp. 3

Up by 7 with 10:14 remaining in the 2nd quarter

What coaches usually do

Field goal try

80% of the time

Go for it

20% of the time

Punt

-

Based on about 991 fourth downs in similar situations since 2001.

What happened

Mike Nugent 21 yard field goal attempt is GOOD.

Where did these numbers come from?

To estimate a team’s chances of winning, I use a mathematical model that accounts for a whole lot of variables — including the difference in score, the time remaining in the game, and the number of timeouts each team has left. On top of that, I have models for the likelihood that a team makes a field goal and the likelihood that it will convert a first down.

By combining all of this information, I can come up with the best decision a team can make, according to math.

If you want even more details about the numbers behind my decisions, my full model is available on GitHub. Help make me better!